# Fake or genuine Bolivar Bellicosos Finos?



## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Gday Fellow Cigar Smokers,

I recently bought a dress box of 25 Bolivar Bellicosos Finos from an online website which shipped the cigars to the London from Hong Kong. Ended paying another £100 in duty and was quite frustrated when i opened the box.

Firstly, the serial number on the havana band checked out and production on the back of the box was ABR 14, but the cigars were all pretty uniform in colour and seemed very dry. 4-5 sticks were cracked and frayed.The first one I smoked was pretty much tasteless and definitely not a Bolivar.

2nd, the cigars seemed to have very uneven cuts and a few had jagged ends as well which is a huge flag up for fakes. 

3rd, the band although embossed had a cut edge on the inside end where it should have a code. Please correct me if i am wrong.

4th, I compared it to a bellicoso finos in my own collection from 2013 and it appeared smaller as per photos 4 & 5 (ie. my own collection cigar is the one on the right). The colour and feel of the wrapper was all wrong as well.

6th picture is of the dress box and the 7th is of another cigar with a jagged cut which i smoked just a moment ago. It did not taste like a cuban although it was a much better smoke than the 1st one .

I would appreciate any advice and/or comments as I am considering chucking the whole box away instead of putting it in my humidor.

I will advise the name of the online vendor as soon as i am sufficiently confident of the authenticity of the cigars.

Regards,

Harry.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

Dont give the name of the vendor. Against the rules here. What I can say is the bands look ok to me and the box as well. If the verification checks out I would say you have legit box and bands at least. The tissue paper in the box instead of the cedar block is the first odd thing. The caps look good. Im 50/50 on this. If it were me I would cut one in half to check the quality of the leaf and inspect for beetle larvae. If ok I would freeze the rest of the box to kill any eggs and then let rest for a few months. The condition these are in are a little rough.


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## Turkmen (Nov 21, 2015)

I think I know the name of the online store. I can't comment on Cuban cigars, but I purchased few times OpusX tins and they looked and tasted very genuine. To be fair, I have to say that one of cigars had a cracked wrapper, I contacted customer service and they very responsive. I wonder if it taste different because they are really dry. Please share your findings when you have enough info about the vendor. Now I am curious to see whether I should trust them. I was thinking to buy a box of OpusX.

Edit: removing store name.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Thank you gents for the replies.

I will dissect one for examination tonight and will post results tomorrow.

Made a stupid mistake of putting them in my humidor.

Too late now I suppose.

Too much Agro buying cigars online, will just fly to Cuba this summer and buy a suitcase load back.

I just hope that a few days in the humidor will revive them as they seem dried out and will smoke better.


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## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Dissected a 2/3rd smoked cigar and found the following wrapper, binder and filler...

Does this look okay and legit?

Did not find any beetles or eggs, should I cut a whole unsmoked one?

There is a big vein on one of the leaves, but all seemed large proper leaves.

Anyone who can shed some light on this?

Appreciate any feedback.

Cheers!


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

based on what I see I am leaning toward legit but based on the condition you still have reson for concern. Always freeze cubans when you do not know the source. Beetles can kill your collection. Trust me. Throwing away behikes and monte gran reservas is no fun.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

you wont see eggs, only larvae and live beetles


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## the1and0nly (Jan 28, 2016)

I am leaning toward legit, just very very dry.

Box, bands, caps, etc all look legit


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## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Roger...just put them in the freezer bags and into a Tupperware...resting in freezer now...how long should I freeze them for?

Coincidentally....behike fraying at the ends...humidity and temp issues?

Thanks for the invaluable advice!


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

That behike has issues. Send it to me so I can fully investigate.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

tomp said:


> That behike has issues. Send it to me so I can fully investigate.


You should always get a second opinion. So I guess I'll lend my unbiased (code for I know nothing about them) opinion. .I may need 2 on the chance that one may have a tight draw.  ...
Seriously hope it works out that they're on the up and up. I hate to see people get ripped off. Good luck


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## the1and0nly (Jan 28, 2016)

harrykklee said:


> Roger...just put them in the freezer bags and into a Tupperware...resting in freezer now...how long should I freeze them for?
> 
> Coincidentally....behike fraying at the ends...humidity and temp issues?
> 
> Thanks for the invaluable advice!


Usually see those splits on the foot with big RH swings. Should still smoke fine.


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## MichiganSRT8 (Jan 9, 2016)

They look good to me, box looks in line (from what I can see), and those area easier to tell from a proper box I have found and see in person. Build quality of the boxes are drastically different from fakes. Was the seal broken when arrived? just might have had a few that were handled for a bit, hence the imperfections.


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## the1and0nly (Jan 28, 2016)

MichiganSRT8 said:


> They look good to me, box looks in line (from what I can see), and those area easier to tell from a proper box I have found and see in person. Build quality of the boxes are drastically different from fakes. Was the seal broken when arrived? just might have had a few that were handled for a bit, hence the imperfections.


Bolivar in general are "ugly" sticks. Some retailers open and inspect boxes (I actually prefer it) so broken seals don't mean much either.

I would guess the combination of transit time, and possibly poor storage prior to, led to a very dry cigar. I would bring it to the retailers attention and see what they say.

If you don't like their answer there are definitely plenty of others, both cheaper and some who are more pricey but known for quality.

Either way I don't see this as a counterfeit issue. Everything from the caps to the bands etc look spot on to me.

Couple of bands I have sitting around.


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## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Thank you guys. You guys are legends!

Cigars resting in fridge. Will go back into humidor tomorrow. And will let them recover for a couple of weeks and then smoke them. 

I have space for another 25 sticks....I am lying...can barely close my humidor actually...what Cubans should I buy next?...a go to cigar...any thoughts..not Cohivas pls...


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## the1and0nly (Jan 28, 2016)

harrykklee said:


> Thank you guys. You guys are legends!
> 
> Cigars resting in fridge. Will go back into humidor tomorrow. And will let them recover for a couple of weeks and then smoke them.
> 
> I have space for another 25 sticks....I am lying...can barely close my humidor actually...what Cubans should I buy next?...a go to cigar...any thoughts..not Cohivas pls...


RASS, BRC, PSD4, Conni #1 all stay on my usual order list. Not sure what your tastes are though.


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## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Hi guys, I just had a bellicosos finos from my own collection and the band does indeed have a code on the inside edge as advised by another fellow smoker friend of mine. Really suspicious now. What do you think?


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## ForceofWill (Sep 6, 2008)

Think you're fine man, they look good. Here's 4 real bands from my collection, top small one is BPC other 3 are BBF. Seems like it varies depending where they cut them.


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## ForceofWill (Sep 6, 2008)

Just for good measure, I grabbed one from the desktop for you.


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## harrykklee (Mar 15, 2016)

Thanks buddy. I will store them into my humidor reassured. I got stung on fakes on 2 occasions with cohibas...piramedes and siglo II, lucky I got money back on the the siglo, the piramedes was a gift so no matter...the siglo had bettles in them..luckily I cut one open to check..the person who sold me the fakes refunded me extra £50 for goodwill...as I would have harrased them with negative publicity..imagine putting them in my humidor with the real stuff..thanks again gents.


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